"MOON-MAN"
Real Name: Unrevealed
Identity/Class: Extraterrestrial (race unknown; Capellan? (see comments)) (1950s era)
Occupation: Patient at Capel Sanitarium
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: Unidentified psychiatrist, unidentified reporter
Enemies: Capel Sanitarium attendants
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: "Buster" (as called by a cop)
Base of Operations: Mobile in New York City; formerly the Capel Sanitarium
First Appearance: Strange Tales I#42/3 (January, 1956)
Powers/Abilities: Seeming to be just an eccentric middle-aged and portly man, the "Moon-Man" was actually a humanoid alien who displayed no paranormal abilities. He was tested and found to have fantastically high intelligence (by human standards), which was only average for his race, and he was a talented sketch-artist. Deemed to be mentally "unbalanced" by his people, the "Moon-Man" was confined to their Capel Sanitarium on Earth's moon for treatment.
The "Moon-Man" wore an environmental-containment suit equipped with multiple devices, including a communication device he called a "sound-forcer". He traveled from the Moon to Earth in a "flying saucer" spacecraft.
Height: 5' 8" (by
approximation)
Weight: 240 lbs. (by approximation)
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Bald
History:
(Strange Tales I#42/3 (fb) - BTS) - Nothing is known of the past of
the alien "Moon-Man," but he was considered to be "unbalanced" by his
people, so he was confined to their Capel Sanitarium on Earth's
Moon. One day he escaped, procured a spacecraft, and flew to
Earth. He landed his "flying saucer" by a railroad track near
New York's Grand Central Station--unknown to him, two sanitarium
attendants were dispatched to apprehend him.
(Strange Tales I#42/3) - The "Moon-Man" entered Grand Central Station and announced his greetings to the people of Earth. The crowd thought him only to be part of a publicity stunt for some movie, but he caught the attention of a reporter. The reporter humored the chubby man and requested to see his "flying saucer," but after a half-hour of searching, the "Moon-Man" couldn't remember by which set of tracks he left it--the reporter doubted the veracity of the "Moon-Man's" claim, telling him that he thought the "Moon-Man" either came from a padded-cell or a publicity manager's office. But as a crowd began to gather, the reporter asked the "Moon-Man" to show them some of the wonders of his advanced lunar science. The "Moon-Man" was about to demonstrate his "sound-forcer," with which he could communicate with the Moon, but changed his mind, explaining that he was reluctant to do so for personal reasons. Then a cop walked up and and saw that the eccentric man was creating a public disturbance; but rather than taking him to jail, the cop told the "Moon-Man" that for the benefit of all concerned, he'd take him to a psychiatrist instead, and the reporter accompanied him.
In the psychiatrist's office, while the reporter watched, the "Moon-Man" was tested by the doctor, and he was found to have a fantastically high intelligence--the "Moon-Man" contended that among his own people on the Moon, he was just average. The psychiatrist thought that his constant reference about coming from the Moon showed a strong obsessive tendency, so he asked the "Moon-Man" to tell him more about his home so that they might help to cure him of his delusion. The "Moon-Man" insisted that it was no delusion, then he grabbed a pencil and pad of paper and proceeded to sketch drawings of his people's cities and spaceships. Exasperated, the psychiatrist concluded that the "Moon-Man" was too far separated from reality, and his only hope for recovery was to be confined in an institution, although the "Moon-Man" assured him he wasn't the least bit unbalanced. Just then, two men entered the psychiatrist's office, and they told the doctor that the "Moon-Man" was an escapee from their institution. The men showed the doctor and reporter their card, which indicated they were from the Capel Sanitarium--the psychiatrist admitted he'd never heard of the place, but one of the men mentioned that their institution was rather little known, and they handled cases that wanted to avoid publicity. The two men then took the "Moon-Man" into their custody.
The next day, the reporter was again at the train station, and he learned of a puzzling discovery--a burned, mildly radioactive oval patch was found near one of the railroad tracks. Remembering the "Moon-Man" claiming to have landed his atomic-powered "flying saucer" by the tracks, the reporter's curiosity was piqued, so he investigated further and checked public records to try to locate the self-proclaimed "Moon-Man," only to learn that there was no such place on Earth called the "Capel Sanitarium".
Meanwhile, in the Capel Sanitarium on Earth's Moon, the two attendants spoke calmly to their reclaimed patient. They mildly scolded the "Moon-Man," telling him he'd have to undergo more treatment, for his actions proved he was still unbalanced--after all, their people knew it wasn't the time to travel to Earth yet...
Comments: Created by Paul S. Newman (writer) and Bernie Krigstein (artist)
This character was never named in this story, so I just
identified him by the story's title.
For some reason, the "Moon-Man" reminded me of actor William
Frawley, best remembered as "Fred Mertz" from countless reruns of "I
Love Lucy" (...and the psychiatrist reminded me of Larry
Fine).
The race of these aliens was never identified, but judging by their
sanitarium's name, I'm guessing they may have come from the star Capella.
Or, maybe they were "pink-skinned" Kree, and they temporarily had their
sanitarium located in the Blue Area of the Moon.
Profile by Ron Fredricks.
CLARIFICATIONS:
The "Moon-Man" has no known connections to:
Capel Sanitarium has no known connections to:
A reporter with the Daily Gazette, he was in Grand Central Station covering
the train arrivals. When a seemingly eccentric man came into the
station and claimed to have come from the he Moon, the reporter humored him
and asked to see his "flying saucer," but after searching for it, the
"Moon-Man" told him he couldn't remember where he left it. A cop came
along and took the "Moon-Man" to a psychiatrist, and the reporter
accompanied him. Later, the "Moon-Man" was taken into the custody of
two men from the Capel Sanitarium.
The next day, the reporter had put the incident out of his thoughts, but
then he learned of a burned, mildly radioactive oval patch by the railroad
tracks, which seemed to be evidence of the "Moon-Man's" spacecraft, so the
reporter decided to investigate further. But after checking public
records, the reporter learned that there was no such place on Earth called
the Capel Sanitarium, and the disappearance of the "Moon-Man" would remain a
mystery to him.
--Strange Tales I#42/3
A doctor of psychiatry, he was tasked with examining an eccentric man who claimed he was from the Moon. Although he found the "Moon-Man" to have a high intelligence, he thought his patient was obviously delusional. The psychiatrist later turned custody of the "Moon-Man" over to two attendants from the Capel Sanitarium, from which he had escaped.
--Strange Tales I#42/3
Two unidentified alien men, who were employed with the Capel Sanitarium on Earth's Moon. They were dispatched to recover an escapee from their institution. They tracked him down to Earth, and entered a psychiatrist's office to reclaim the "Moon-Man." When they returned their patient to the sanitarium, they scolded him for escaping, and told him he was still "unbalanced" and would require more treatment, because their people knew it wasn't time to travel to Earth yet.
--Strange Tales I#42/3
A treatment center for patients deemed to be "unbalanced," it was in an alien city that hovered over the landscape of Earth's Moon.
The "Moon-Man" later drew a sketch of it when he was being examined by a psychiatrist.
--Strange Tales I#42/3
It was used by the "Moon-Man" to travel from Earth's Moon, and he landed it
by some railroad tracks near Grand Central Station. When the
"Moon-Man" later took a reporter to see it, he forgot exactly where he left
it--presumably, it was recovered by the two Capel Sanitarium attendants who
later took the "Moon-Man" into their custody.
According to the "Moon-Man," it was the latest atomic-reactor type, and
equipped with trans-space TV.
(Although it never actually appeared in
the story, possibly the "flying saucer" was similar to one of the sketches
later drawn by the "Moon-Man".)
--Strange Tales I#42/3
images: (without ads)
Strange Tales I#42/3 p1 pan1 (main image, "Moon-Man" in Grand Central Station)
Strange Tales I#42/3, p1, pan2 (headshot, "Moon-Man")
Strange Tales I#42/3, p2, pan5 ("Moon-Man" about to demonstrate "sound-forcer" to reporter)
Strange Tales I#42/3, p2, pan7 ("Moon-Man" being taken into custody by cop as reporter looks on)
Strange Tales I#42/3, p1, pan3 (Unidentified reporter)
Strange Tales I#42/3, p3, pan6 (Unidentified psychiatrist)
Strange Tales I#42/3, p3, pan7 (Capel Sanitarium attendants)
Strange Tales I#42/3, p4, pan7 (Capel Sanitarium floating above moon's surface)
Strange Tales I#42/3, p3, pan4 ("Moon-Man's" sketch of Capel Sanitarium)
Strange Tales I#42/3, p2, pan2 ("Moon-Man" and reporter searching for "flying saucer")
Strange Tales I#42/3, p3, pan5 ("Moon-Man's" sketch of some of his people's spacecraft)
Appearances:
Strange Tales I#42/3 (January, 1956) - Paul S. Newman (writer), Bernie Krigstein (artist), Stan Lee (editor)
Last updated: 05/05/16
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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